Church in Newfoundland receives amazing gift
Generous donation allows long-anticipated move
after 12 years of searching, praying and meeting at 27 different locations in
St. John’s, N.L., the Anglican Church of the Good Samaritan finally has a permanent place to call home thanks to a $2.5 million gift from donors who have requested anonymity.
“We had been praying for a place where God would plant us where we could reach out to a neighbourhood,” says Colton Carrick, a deacon at the church (www.ChurchOfTheGoodSamaritan.ca). “Since we’ve been so mobile for the past few years, it’s been hard, but now that we’ve been planted our hope is to work hard to use this for God’s glory.”
With hopes of a move-in date of mid-February, the church’s new location will be in a church building located in the downtown core surrounded by densely populated, diverse and low-income neighbourhoods.
Unfortunately, due to the cost of upkeep and being located downtown, the original congregation in the church building, St. Michael’s, had to sell its building and move to a smaller site in the suburbs. Meanwhile, the Anglican Church of the Good Samaritan had been meeting at community centres, schools, and most recently an outdoor amphitheatre and online.
When St. Michael’s was put on the market with the $2.5 million price tag, Darrell Critch, priest-in-charge of the congregation, emailed his parishioners asking them to pray fervently for the opportunity to purchase, if it was the building God wanted for them.
Then Critch received a phone call and shared the news. “One hundred per cent of the purchase price has been anonymously donated. The donors have also agreed to fund the expenses of restoring the church. Furthermore, the anonymous donor has agreed to fund the operating costs of running the church.”
Parishioners have been astounded by the news. Carrick explains they experienced a sense of profound gratitude and rejoicing of the Lord’s provision in such a miraculous way, and on the other hand, a sense of sober responsibility realizing that “to whom much is given, much will be required.”
Future dreams for the new home include installing a kitchen so food can be served and used as a ministry, starting an afterschool program where children can get help with homework, and a skate park.
“Our hope is to have an open-door policy so this will be a place people can come, gather and stop by for a coffee,” says Carrick. “We spent years praying that we would get a church building, and now that we’ve got one this is the beginning of it all. Now we need to use this great gift for the sake of God’s glory and God’s mission.”